Feed for cigar bunch machines



Dec. 29, 1942. J. P. DURNING FEED FOR CIGAR BUNCH MACHINES -3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1936 Dec. 29, 1942. J. P. DURNING FEED FORCIGAR BUNCH MACHINES Filed Aug. 27, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 .M M. SN

ATTORN EY Dec. 29, 1942.

J. P. DURNING FEED FOR CIGAR BUNCH MACHINES Filed Aug. 27, 1936 3Sheets-Sheet 3 f INVEzHgoR M. *7 BY ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 29, 1942 FEEDFOR CIGAR BUNCH MACHINES James P. Durning, St. Albans, N. Y., assignorto International Cigar Machinery Company, a corporation of New JerseyApplication August 2'7, 1936, Serial No. 98,188

25 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar machines, and more particularly tofeeding devices for cigar bunch machines wherein tobacco is fed intomechanism which delivers it into bunch forming machines.

While this device is adapted to feed any kind of tobacco, it findsparticular adaptability in the feed of so-called scrap tobacco or shortfiller tobacco which contains varying proportions of long and shortleaves. In feeding this type of tobacco to a bunch forming machine ithas, always been a problem to prevent the separation of short leavesfrom the long; otherwise cigars of varying uniformity will be produced.

It is therefore the chief object of this invention to provide a machinewhich will feed tobacco of any type to a bunch forming machine andduring such feed substantially prevent the separation of leaves becauseof differences in size.

It is a further object of the invention to provide mechanism for feedingscrap tobacco in a stream into a bunch forming machine in which the longand short portions constituting the material fed do not separate butmaintain a uniform distribution as the scrap is fed to said machine.

In order to accomplish this object there has been provided a hoppercontaining a supply of tobacco, and means for vibrating said hopper tocause tobacco to flow in a uniform stream from the hopper into a devicewhich routes the tobacco being fed into the bunch machine. By reason ofthis construction a feed having great compactness, and simplicity isfurnished. Because of the arrangement of parts it can be placed low onthe machine and be easily accessible for refilling with a minimum ofefiort on the part of the operator.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tobacco feedingdevice having a hopper and an electric vibratory device connectedthereto whereby the hopper may be vibrated to feed tobacco to a bunchmachine whenever the latter requires additional tobacco.

It is a further object of the invention to provide mechanism controlledby the charge measuring mechanism of the bunch machine for activating avibratory device for feeding tobacco from a hopper connected theretowhenever tobacco is needed for the operation of the machine.

It is a further object of the invention to furnish a tobacco feedingsurface over which distributed tobacco may be fed into a bunch machineby means of a vibrating mechanism attached to said surface.

Another object is to provide a system whereby I the amplitude ofvibration during the feeding of tobacco to vary the amount fed, hence itis an additional object to provide mechanism, either mechanical orelectrical for performing that function.

It may also be desired to maintain a substantially constant quantity oftobacco in the compression chamber of the bunch machine at all timesduring its operation in order that cigars of greater uniformity may beproduced. Hence, it is a further object of the invention to providemechanism for accomplishing that purpose.

With these andother objects not specifically stated in view, theinvention consists of the combinations and constructions which will behereinafter fully described, and then specifically set forth in theclaims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings which show the improved filler feed asapplied to a modern scrap bunch cigar machine, such for instance, asdisclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,915,525 to F. C. Gladeck and J. P.Durning, June 2'7, 1933,

Fig. l is a side elevation of the improved filler feed mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top View from line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial side. elevation showing a modification of the feeddelivery;

Fig. 5 is a partial side elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing anothermodification of the feed delivery and also a vibratory arrangement ofthe hopper outlet screen;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the hopper outlet screen showing anarrangement for magnetizing the screen rods for the purpose of pickingup nails and other iron objects accidentally present in the tobacco;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the arrangement shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a detail side view of an adjustable vibrator unit;

Fig. 10 is a partial side elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing means forcontrolling the vibrating mechanism of the hopper; and

Fig. 11 is an end View partly in section of a modified drive foroperating the screen of Figures and 6.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the bed plate 6 of the cigar machine,which is carried by end frames 1, supports stands 9, and a plate l0whereon is mounted a vibrating device, which may be of a mechanical orelectric type. In the structure illustrated this device comprises anelectric vibrator I of known construction, which,

however may be of the type shown in U. S. Patent to Flint 1,846,326,issued February 23,1932. To the armature of this vibrator is mounted ahopper la preferably formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, and provided withan elongated feeding surface over which tobacco is fed in a uniformstream to the bunch making machine. It is to m noted that hopper |2 maybe rigidly connected to the vibrator by means of a bracket I3, andresiliently supported, as by a leaf spring l4, secured thereto by abracket 5. The mountings of hopper 2 may be interchanged, if desired, asshown in Fig. 5, in which case vibrator II is afiixed to the dischargeend of the hopper. Hopper I2 is also preferably equipped with screeningrods I 6 which limit the-flow of tobacco T to the proper amount.

Due to the action of the vibrator, which is provided with a coil (1 andan armature Nb, and its effect upon materials fed from hopper I2, it isnot necessary to mount said hopper so that its feeding surface islimited to a horizontal plane only, The feeding action of the dew'ceimparts a series of uniform hopping movements to the material whilethevibrating surface maintains a uniform oblique rectilinear movement inthe particular plane in which it is mounted. However, for best results,it has been found that the vibrator should be mounted at an angle,preferably an acute angle, to the plane of the feeding surface; seeFigs. 1 and 5. By means of this mechanism a positive forward feed oftobacco is effected even if the surface over which the tobacco moves istiltedsomewhat below or above the horizontal. It will be seen that thevibratory action of the hopper tends to move the mass of tobaccoconfined therein up against the rakes 6 so that when the hopper isvibrated the tobacco moves beneath therakes and along the elongatedportion of the hopper for discharge to the charge compression chamber,In the modification shown in Figure 6 in which rakes l6 are mounted fortransverse movement back and forth across the hopper, it will be seenthat when this action takes place the rakes in moving across the face ofthe tobacco confined thereby will separate tobacco from the face of themass which is released by this action and joins the stream of tobaccoflowing to the chute 1. In this manner the entire face of the tobaccobearing against the rakes will be subjected to a separating action oreffect which results in greater uniformity of feeding with a minimum ofseparation of long from short particles and vice versa.

When the vibrator is operating, the tobacco from the hopper isdischarged into a stationary chute l1 which delivers it into a secondchute l8 closed by a, pivoted chute |9 which is held against the bottomof chute 18 by means of a weight 25. The tobacco charge in chute I8 iscontrolled by the quantity of tobacco already present in the horizontalcompression chamber .75

2| of the machine in that no tobacco is fed into the delivery chuteuntil the quantity of tobacco in said chamber reaches a point where tripmechanism hereinafter described functions to set the vibratory feed intomotion again. The tobacco fed to chute I8 is delivered to the saidchamber at the proper moment by the action of a cam lever 22 fulcrumedon a shaft 23 and provided with a roller 24 tracking a cam 25 oncam-shaft 26. The lever 22 is connected by a rod 21 to an arm 28 fast ona shaft 29 to which is pinned the cover plate 30 of chamber 2|, theshaft 29 being supported by the side walls 3| of the said chamber, Fig.3.

To the arm 28 is pivoted a slotted lever 32 which engages a pin in anarm 33 swingably supported in a bearing 34 and held against a stop 35 bya spring 36. From the forward end of chute |9 a pin 31 extends laterallyinto the path of the end of arm 33. When roller 24 is moved by cam 25into its outmost position 24', rod 21 raises the arm 28 into position28', thereby opening the cover 30 of chamber 2| and at the same time bymeans of lever 32 turns arm 33 into the dotted position 33', causing thesame to engage pin 31 and thereby to depress chute H] which deposits itstobacco charge into the then open chamber 2|. Upon the return of rod 21,spring 36 pulls arm 33 back into its starting position against stop 35,thus permitting weight 20 to restore chute |9 to its closing position byrotation on the shaft 38, which is supported by bearings 3|] on the sidewalls 3|.

After the cover 35 has then again been closed by the downward movementof rod 21, the chargeforwarding plunger 40 which is tensioned, toproduce the desired tobacco density in chamber 2|, by a spring 4|adjustable by a socket 42 slidable by means of a screw 43 on a rod 44 ina block 45, is advanced by a lever 46 controlled, through links 41 and48 and an arm 49 mounted on a stud 59 in bed plate 6 to produce parallelmotion, by a two-arm cam lever 5| having a roller 52 in engagement witha track of cam 25. The rod 53 of plunger 49 at its end has a laterallyprojecting bracket 54 carrying a screw 55 parallel to plunger rod 53,the screw 55 being engageable with an arm 56 fast on a stud 51 carriedin a bearing of stand 8.

When the screw 55 engages the arm 56 as the cam roller 52 moves towardsits outer position 52, the stud 57 turns an arm 58 thereby raising alink 59 which rocks a lever 60 swinging a stud 6| in a bracket 62 on bedplate 6. To the stud 6| is fastened an arm 63 provided with a nose uponwhich rests a lever 64 carrying a roller 65. Lever 64 is fast on a stud66 mounted in a bracket 61, the latter stud carrying a contact arm 68engageable with a stationary contact 69 on bracket 67. Thus, as soon athe plunger 46 has advanced to the point at which screw 55 engages arm56, the arm 63 is tripped by the link 59, permitting the lever 64 todrop, thereby closing the contact 68, 69 and energizing the electricvibrator through the wires 10, 1| and 12.

The hopper |2 will then discharge tobacco into the chute until a campiece 13 attached to the circumference of cam 25 engages the roller 65,thereby raising the lever 64 into engagement with arm 63 and thusbreaking the contact 68, 69. In case there is a suflicient quantity oftobacco left over in chamber 2| to completely fill the measuring chamber70 before the plunger 40 has advanced to the point of engagement betweenscrew 55 and arm 56, the remainder of the motion of lever 46 is absorbedby the spring 4|, and the lever 64 will remain in engaged position, thusno additional tobacco will be fed during that cycle of the machine.

At the end of each cycle, a cam piece I5, somewhat lower than cam pieceI3, is in registration with roller 65 thereby preventing contact of arm68 during the stoppage of the machine in case the lever 64 iaccidentally tripped while the machine is not operating. 7

When the chamber I4, which is pivoted to an arm I6, has been fillled,the descent of a vertical shaft 11 supported in a frame 16 and operatedby a cam I9 on shaft 26 causes the knife 86 to cut the charge, whereuponthe further descent of arm I6 causes the chamber I4 to swing on a stoppin 8| and to be depressed onto the rolling table 82. There, the chargeis delivered onto a rolling apron by the depression of a plunger 83 inchamber I4, which at that time is vertically positioned, whereuponrolling pin 84 carried by a cam-operated arm 85 rolls the tobaccochargeinto a binder, thus forming a cigar bunch. Since the action of thevibrating hopper produces a uniform delivery of the scrap mixture T,

and since the tobacco density is continuously regulated by the automaticaction of plunger 46, all bunches delivered by the rolling pin 84 are ofuniform, homogeneous quality.

In Fig. 4, a modification of the feed delivery is shown. The vibratinghopper I2 discharges into a swinging chamber 86 carried by an arm 81mounted on a shaft 88 oscillated by a crank 89 operated through a rod 96from cam lever 22. In its delivery position 86' shown in dotted lines,the chamber 66 takes the place of chamber 2| in Fig. 1, the plunger 46entering the sam to eject the charge directly into the measuring chamberI4. In order to control the operation of the vibrator I I when used inconjunction with chamber 86, cam I will be of such a length that whenarm 56 is engaged by plunger 43 and lever 64 is freed from engagementwith latch 63, contacts 68 and 69 will be held open until chamber 86 hasbeen moved from the dotted line to the full line position of Fig. 4,whereupon cam follower 65 runs off cam I5, and the hopper I2 is set intovibration until cam follower 65 engages cam I3, and lever 64 is liftedinto latching engagement with latch 63. In its receiving position, thebottom of chamber 86 is closed by a cover 9| hinged to its top wall andheld in closed position by a spring 92 pressing against a plunger 93 ina chamber of arm 81, the lower face of the said plunger being connectedto an arm 94 extending from cover ill, by a link 95. On descending bythe action of rod 96, the arm 94 engages with an edge of ledger bar 96of knife 86, thereby opening the cover 9I into position 9I' in alignmentwith the top wall of chamber 86.

The upper face of plunger 93 is connected by a slotted link 91 with aswingable wall 98 mounted within chamber 86, the spring 92 holding thewall 98 in its open position shown in full lines when the arm 94 isfree. But when the arm 94 is pushed back by its engagement with bar 96,the link 91 turns the wall 98 into the dotted position 98 in alignmentwith the top wall of chamber 86, thus forming a continuous rectangularchamber 86 for the travel of plunger 96.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the

on a stud l66a in a U-shaped frame I66, suitably mounted on plate 6, oneend of bar 99 being joined to a connecting rod I6I to whichreciprocating motion is imparted through a bell crank lever I62 and linkI63 by an eccentric I64, thereby rocking the bar 99 and rods I6 to andfrom the dotted position shown in Fig. 6. This action of the rods, tendsto level off the tobacco being fed and effects a more uniform feed bytheir limiting and spring action because the vibratory movement of thehopper tends to move the tobacco in the hopper against the rods, whichthereby govern the flow of the tobacco mass in the hopper and allow itto be released and pass into the stream of tobacco moving over thefeeding surface portion of the hopper. The eccentric I64 is rotated by asprocket I65 driven by a chain I66 from a, sprocket I61 on shaft 23which has a sprocket I68 driven by a chain I69 from a sprocket II6 oncam shaft 26. If it is desired to rock the bar 99 continuously while thetobacco-feed is in operation, the sprocket I I6 is 'fixed- 1y mounted onshaft 26, as shown, but if it is desired to agitate the rods I6 nlyduring the actual feeding period of the hopper, that is, while thevibrator is in action, then the sprocket II6 can be connected to shaft26 through a suitable clutch I59, which may be of the type shown in Fig.11. According to the arrangement shown in Fig. 11, sprocket II6 will beloosely mounted on shaft 26. Whenever switch members 68, 69 are closed,by means of contacts I 6| engaging rings I62 on the driven portion ofthe clutch I69 keyed to shaft 26, magnets I66 will be energized to causethe drive to be transferred to the shaft 26 for the duration of thevibratory period of the vibrator. If desired, any other suitable type ofclutch can be used, such for instance, as a mechanical clutch.

The tobacco T in Fig. 5 is discharged into a chute III suspended by sidearms I I2 from a horizontal shaft II3 supported by brackets IIA attachedto frame I8. Within the chute III is mounted, on a shaft H6, a trapplate II6 held by a torsion spring II'I against the rear wall of thechute. To one end of shaft H5 is afiixed a lever II8 adapted to engagewith a stop screw II9 supported by a bracket I26 attached to one of theside walls of compression chamber 2 I. The chute III is swung back andforth in synchronism with the cover 36 of chamber 2! by a lever I2I onshaft 29, the latter shaft having an arm I22 connected by a link I23with a lug I24 on the rear wall of chute III. When the cover 36 is openfor the reception of a tobacco charge, the chute is in the positionshown in full lines in Fig. 5, in which position the lever H3 restsagainst stop II9, thereby opening th trap II 6 so that the tobaccocharge T will drop into the space between the rear wall of chute III andthe open cover 36. When, however, the cover closes by the downward pullof rod 21 due to the action of cam lever 22, the chute II I is swung byscreen rods I6 are mounted in a bar 99 pivoted arm I22 into the dottedposition III in which the trap H6 is closed by the spring III, thecharge T having dropped into chamber 2| as soon as the chute cleared thecover 36 at the commencement of the closing motion.

The hopper outlet screens as shown in either Figs. 1 and 2 or 5 and 6,may be made use of to pick up nails, small pieces of iron and othermagnetic objects which have found their way into the tobacco in curingor during transportation or subsequent handling. For this purpose, eachof the rods I6 is provided with a solenoid coil I 25 fed by wires I26from a lighting or power circuit, these coils being connected in series01" in series-parallel and so arranged as to magnetize the rods I6alternately to opposite polarities." In the apparatus disclosed in Figs.and 6, coils I25 are secured in place against the bar 99 whichpreferably is made of iron to provide a good magnetic system by collarsI27 of brass or other non-magnetic material, and are protected fromcontact with the more or less moist tobacco by a guard plate I28 ofnon-magnetic material held on the rods I6 by the coils. The oppositepolarities of adjacent rods set up magnetic fields NS between their freeends, so that nails and other magnetizable objects present in thetobacco T will be attracted to the nearest rod and will be held thereonby magnetic attraction until removed by the operator.

In order to adjust the machine for feeding different quantities oftobacco and also prevent short particles from separating from theadvancing stream, means are provided for-adjusting the vibrations of thevibrator. The tobacco in the hopper is placed therein with the long andshort particles mixed together. If the hopper is vibrated excessively,there will be a tendency of the smaller particles or short portions towork down to the bottom of the hopper and move out beneath the longparticles which are positioned above them and are held back by the rodsI6. Therefore, by inspecting the stream of tobacco flowing from thehopper during its feeding operation and adjusting the hoppers vibrationto a point where the distribution of particles is substantially thatrequired, the separation of the short from the long pieces can be heldto a minimum, and the uniformity of flow of tobacco to the bunch rollingmachine will be more satisfactory. In Fig. 9 there is shown one form ofadjusting mechanism for a vibrator unit having an armature I32 oflaminated construction, a core I38 of similar material and construction,and coils I3'I. The last two elements are afiixed to a bracket I33 whichis adjustably mounted upon a shaft I34. When a change in amount ofmaterial to be fed is required, bracket I33 i shifted on shaft I34 withthe result that the lines of force are lengthened and the strength ofthe field is diminished accordingly thereby resulting in a change instroke of the vibrator. If the vibrations are to be varied electrically,electrical-control means, such as rheostat I29 (Fig. 1) can beplaced inthe control circuit.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the in- 5 ward movement of thecharge-forwarding plunger 40 brings the screw 55 into engagementwith anarm, I40 mounted on a stud I4I, the stud I4I turning an arm I42 therebyraising a link I43 which actuates arm I44 integral with the adjustablemagnet I45. lhe magnet I45 is mounted on a stud I46 supported in a lugextending from the plate It. In the above described manner the magnetI45 is swung into registration with a movable armature I41, whichconstitutes the electric vibrator I45I4'I.

When the vibrator I 45I4I is operating, the tobacco from the hopper isdischarged into chute I! which delivers the same into a second chute I8,which as previously described, directs the tobacco into ahorizontalcompression chamber 2I. After the cover 30 of chamber 2| hasclosed, the charge-forwarding plunger 40 advances to the point at whichscrew 55 engages arm I40, which through'its linkage swings the magnet I45 into a position predetermined by arm '40 in part or full registrationwith the movable armature I41. In this position the magnetic fieldpasses either partly or entirely through the movable armature I41 and avarying or maximum vibrating motion of the unit is attained. The flow ofcurrent from line wires I49--I50 energizing the vibrator I45-I41 therebyimparts motion to hopper I2 which will continue feeding tobacco until acam piece I58, attached to the periphery of a cam I48, encounters aroller I51 carried by an arm I56 secured to a stud MI. The tripping ofarm I 56, which occurs at the completion of each cycle of the machine,turns stud I4I, whereby through the linkage, swings magnet I 45 to itsout position away from movable armature I41, thereby stopping thevibrating motion of hopper I2 and discontinuing the feeding of tobaccoto chute I9. When the magnet I45 is in its nonvibrating or out position,as shown in Fig. 10, the magnet registers with the stationary armature I47a, attached to a bracket I4'Ib carried by plate I0, and therefore themagnetic field passes entirely through the said stationary armaturewhereby no vibration will be imparted to the hopper I2.

By means of the arrangement above described, it is possible to controlthe quantity of tobacco fed to the compression chamber to such an extentthat a substantially uniform amount is always present therein. This is amost desirable factor in the manufacture of cigars inasmuch as it tendsto insure that the mass of tobacco confined in the chamber isapproximately non-varying in quantity, and therefore the cigars producedwill vary little in uniformity.

Assuming that there is a certain predetermined quantity of tobacco inthe chamber 2| and that plunger is moving to feed tobacco into themeasuring chamber I4, screw 55 will set the vibratory feed controlmember I40 so that the required amount will be fed to keep the quantityinthe chamber constant. Thus on each movement of the plunger the magnetI is positioned to cause suflicient vibration of hopper I2 to insurethat the chamber 2I contains its predetermined constant amount oftobacco.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various changes may be made inthe structural details thereof without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for feeding tobacco into a cigar bunch making machine,the combination with a hopper having a substantially horizontal rigidbottom adapted to contain a supply of tobacco, of supports for saidhopper, oscillatable rake means mounted directly above said bottom forholding and retarding movement of said supply of tobacco from saidhopper, a vibrator connected to said hopper, and adapted to impart rapidpulsations to said hopper and the supply of tobacco contained thereinfor feeding tobacco therefrom into said machine, control mechanism foractivating said vibrator and moving said rake means whenever tobacco isneeded in said machine, and independently operated means for moving saidrake means to and fro transversely of the direction of movement oftobacco from said hopper while said vibrator is operating.

2. In a cigar machine, the combination with a hopper for holding asupply of filler tobacco, and provided with a rigid bottom surface overwhich said tobacco is fed, of" a row of spaced movable elements directlyover said bottom surface for retarding movement of said tobacco fromsaid hopper and limiting the removal there from, means for moving saidelements over said surface, members supporting said hopper for vibratorymovement of the entirehopper, a vibrator secured to said hopper, andmeans for intermittently setting said vibrator and elements in motiontofeed tobacco in a stream over said rigid bottom surface from saidhopper for discharge into said machin'ei,said elements moving to and froin p aths'transverselyof the path of movement of thehopperbottom'surface.

3. In a cigarbunchmaking machine, mechanism for feeding tobaccocomprising a source of supply of short filler tobacco provided with atobacco receiving andfeedingtable, a device for simultaneously vibratingsaid source of supply and said table in unison, means above said tablemovable to and fro independently of the table to retard movement oftobacco fromsaid'su'pply, means for intermittently operatingsaid'vibiatory device to feed tobacco from said sourcealong said tableintermittently into a bunch making machine, said operating meansincluding a member for incapacitating said device when sufficienttobacco has been fed to said machine, and means for rehabilitating saiddevice to cause the feed of additional 'tobacco..

4. In a cigar bunchmaking machinathe combination with a source of supplyof tobacco provided witha tobacco, receiving and feeding table,

a device for vibratiiig'saidsupply'and table,-

means for intermittently operatingsaid device to feed tobacco on saidtable intermittently into a bunch making machine, saidmean's'jcomp'rising a trip adapted to' be moved when tobaccdis 'to befed into said machine, 'a limitswitch, means for closing said switchupon forward movement of said trip to institute thefeedbf'said'ftob'acco, and cam means for opening saidswitch andstoppingthe vibration ofsaid device whereby the feed of, tobacco over said tableceases.

5. Ina cigar machine, a chambenla member movable within said chamberftocompress tobacco therein, a hopper containing a supply of tobacco,'meansfor feeding. tobacco from said hopper into said chamber, said meanscomprising a vibrator connectedto' said hopper for vibrating said hopperand entire supply'of tobacco, and means for preventing movement ofsaidvibratorand said hopper when suificient tobacco has been fed into said'chamber. v

6. A cigar bunch making machine, comprising a compression chamber, amember movable within said chamber for compressing tobacco therein,means for feeding tobacco into said chamber, said means including ahopper adapted to contain a diminishable bulk supply of tobaccosufficient to form a plurality of cigars, mechanism for vibrating saidhopper'and the entire supply of tobacco to feed tobacco into saidchamber, means for varying the vibrations of said mechanism forcontrolling the amount of tobacco fed into said chamber, and means-forpreventing movement of said vibrator and said hopper when sufficienttobacco has been fed into said chamber, V

7. In a cigar. bunchmachine, the combination with a source of supply oftobaccocomprisingan openhopper, constructed and arranged to hold a. bulksupply. of tobacco sufficient to form a large number ofcigar bunches,said hopper being feed tobacco in a uniform stream into said chute,

a control for said device, means on said member -coacting. with saidcontrol when the tobacco in ;said chamber reaches a predeterminedminimum "to set said devicein operation, means for closing said gate.andopening said gate to admittobacco to said chamber from said chute,and means for stopping the vibration of said hopper.

8.. Means for feeding tobacco into a cigar bunch forming machine,comprising a chamber, a chute discharging into said chambena plungeroperable in said chamber, an" elongated feeding surface, means forintermittentlyfeedin'g tobacco oversaid surface into said chute, saidmeans comprising an electric vibrating member affixed to. said surface,and meanscooperatinp with said plunger and carried thereby forintermittently setting said vibrating member into operation.

9. In a cigar bunch making machine, mechanismafor feeding tobaccocomprising a hopper adapted to containa diminishable bulk supply oftobacco suflicient to form alarge number of cigar bunches, saidhopperbeing provided with a rigid bottom surface over which said tobaccois fed into said bunch machine, a vibrator for vibratingsaid hopper withsubstantially rectilinear pulsations to cause tobacco to be. feddirectly: from said supply-along said-surface into said machine in astream, movable means positioned directly above and depending towardssaid surface and extending transversely thereof for retarding movementof said supply over said surface and thereby limiting the quantity'oftobacco available: for feeding, meansfor operating said v'ibrator tovibrate said hopper, and: mechanism f'orimparting independent to and fromovement to said movable means in a direction transverse tothe directionof movement of said rigid bottom surface during the operation of saidlast-named means.

' 10. In a cigar bunch machine tobacco feeding mechanism, a hoppercontaining a diminishable bulk supply of tobacco, and provided with asurface-over which said tobacco is fed into a bunch machine, an electricvibrator for vibrating said hopper with substantially rectilinearpulsations to cause tobacco on said surface to be fed into said machinein a: substantially thin uniform stream, and axially alignedmeans-positioned adjacent saidsurface against which said tobacco ismovedby said pulsations for limiting the quantity of tobacco available forfeeding, and for removing foreign objects of a magnetizable nature'fromsaid tobacco stream.

11. Ina cigar bunch machine tobacco feeding mechanism; a hopper adaptedto contain a supply of tobacco, and provided with a rigid tobaccofeeding and supporting surface over which said tobacco is fed to a bunchmachine, a vibrator for vibrating said hopper to cause tobacco on saidsurface to be fed into said machine in a uniform stream, means locatedadjacent said surface for limiting the quantity of tobacco fed from saidsupply in said hopper ontosaid surface, said means comprising aplurality of depending fingers mounted directly over said rigid surfacein a spaced row and retarding the movement of said supply of tobaccofrom said hopper, means for operating said vibrator, and means forimparting independent oscillating movement to said fingers in asubstantially vertical plane back and forth above said rigid surface inadirection transverse to the vibratory movement of said surface. Y v. l

12. In a cigar bunchimachine tobacco feeding .mechanism, a hopperadapted to contain a diminishable supply of tobacco 'sufficient to forma plurality of bunches, and provided with a surface over which saidtobacco is fed to a bunch machine, a vibratorrforlvibrating saidhopperand supply of tobacco: with substantiallyrectilinear pulsations to causetobacco onsaid'surface to be fed into said machine ina uniform stream,and depending fingers against which the supply of tobacco in said hopperis moved by saidpulsations located adjacent said surface for, retardingthe movement of said supply of tobacco from said hopper and limiting thequantity of tobacco fed onto saidsurface, means foroscillating saidfingers transversely of the direction of movement of said surfaceacrossthe front portion ofthe tobacco held, back thereby insaid hoppertransversely of the direction of movement of said vtobacco from saidhopper, and means for removing foreign materials'of a magnetizablenature therefrom, said means comprising a pluralityof axially aligned.magnets secured to said fingers and constructed and arranged tomagnetize said fingers.

l3. In a tobacco feeding mechanisnna hopper containing a bulk supply oftobacco suificient to form a plurality of cigar bunches without additionthereto, and provided witha rigid surface over which said tobacco isfedto a bunch machine, a vibrator for vibrating said hopper to causetobacco on said surface to, be fed into said, machine in anapproximately horizontal stream, a stationary supporting memberpositioned adjacent said hopper, a pivoted element mountedon said,member, a plurality of separated rods dependingefrom said elementdirectly above said surface and obstructing the free flow of saidrbulksupplylof tobacco from said hopper, andmeans for.rocking said element toand fro independent ofthe vibratory movement of said hopper in adirection, transversely of the direction of movement of said, rigidsurface to limit the quantity of tobacco available for feeding over saidsurface tosaid machine 14. In a tobacco feeding mechanism, a hoppercontaining a supply of tobacco, and provided with a surface over whichsaid tobacco is fed to, a bunch machine, a vibrator for vibrating saidhopper to cause tobacco on said surfaceto be fed into said machine in astream, a stationary supporting member positioned adjacent said hopper,a pivoted element mounted on said member,

a plurality of separated rods depending from said element, means forrocking said element, across the face of said supply of; tobacco'to,limitthe quantity of tobacco available for feedingover said surface tosaid machine, magnetizing elements mounted on each of said rods formagnetizing, the same, whereby foreign materials, of a magnetizablenature may be removed from said tobacco stream. w H .3 .15. A cigarbunchmaking machine comprising a chamber provided with a feeding openingand a cover, a feed chute located'over saidopening, and adapted toconvey tobacco into-said chamber when said cover is removed from theopening, a member movable within said chamber to compress tobaccoconfined therein, a hopper containing tobacco located adjacent saidchute, anselectric vibrator secured to said hopper, means for movingsaid cover to open and closed positions, and means carried bysaid memberfor operating said vibrator to feed tobacco from said hopper wheneverthe supply in said chamber needs replenishing. I v

16. In a cigar machine, a'chainber, a member reciprocable therein for,compressing tobacco,v a ate *on said "chamber; means for opening andclosing saidgate,a chute positioned abovesaid gate and adapted todischarge tobacco into said chamber, said chute comprising a pivoted'wall and a trap plate, means for moving said wall mechanism foroperating said device when tobacc isto be fed, and means for stoppingthe operation of said device. T

17. In tobacco handling mechanism for a cigar machine, a pivotedmeasuring chamber, a retractable, reciprocable member adapted tovreciprocate within said chamber when in a discharge position, a transferelement into which a measured charge of tobacco is ejected byf'saidmember,'means for, feeding tobacco into said chamber, said meanscomprising a hopper mounted for substantially rectilinear feedingmotionyb, vibrator device securedjtofsaid hopper, and means" foractivating said vibrator to feed tobacco from" said hopper into saidchamber whenever the'supply therein reaches a predeterminedminimum; 1 YT l. 18. In a shortfiller cigar bunch making machine, the combinationwith a tobacco receiving chamber, of a member reciprocable therein tocompress tobacco in said chamber, a vibrating feedingdevice including afeeding surface for feeding tobacco ina substantially uniform streamover'said surface to said chamber, connections between said member anddevice controlled by movement of said'member for maintaining apredetermined quantity of substantially uniformly distributed long andshort filler tobacco in said chamber, said connections comprising tripmechanism, and means on said member for setting said trip for feeding tosaid chamber sufficient tobacco to maintain said quantity therein. 7 T

19. A feed device for a scrap bunch cigar making machine, comprising atobacco receiving chamber, a vibrating device for feeding tobacco tosaid chamber, means for tamping tobacco in said chamber, means'forcontrolling said vibrating device to institute the feed of tobacco in asubstantially uniform stream to said chamber whereby a predeterminedquantity of tobacco is maintained in said chamber, said means comprisinga'trip, and connections between said acoasso structed and arranged'toretard movement of tobacco from said hopper, means for intermittentlyvibrating said hopper to advance said tobacco supply against saidfingers, and means for rocking said fingers transversely back and forthacross the path of movement of said tobacco While said hopper isvibrating to effect thereby a substantial separation from the face ofthe tobacco confined thereby of the pieces of tobacco being fed throughsaid fingers to said device.

21. In a cigar machine, the combination with a tobacco receiving chamberand means operable in said chamber to compress tobacco located thereinto a predetermined density, of means for feeding tobacco to saidchamber, including a hopper constructed and arranged to hold a bulksupply of tobacco, means for imparting rapid vibratory movement to saidhopper to feed a stream of tobacco from said hopper, a plurality ofsubstantially vertical fingers for holding back said tobacco in saidhopper located above and arranged to move transversely of the path ofmovement of tobacco from said hopper, and means for moving said fingersto and fro across the stream during the movement of said hopper toseparate tobacco from the face of the bull: supply held back by saidfingers.

22. In a cigar machine, the combination with a source of supply oftobacco comprising an open hopper constructed and arranged to hold adiminishable bulk supply of tobacco, said hopper having a substantiallyhorizontal feeding surface with a discharge outlet, and a bunch formingdevice, of a compression chamber, mechanism for vibrating said hopper tofeed a stream of tobacco from said supply along said surface to saidchamber, devices located at said outlet and substantially at rightangles to said surface for cooperation with said feeding means forlimiting the quantity of tobacco fed to said chamber, means for movingsaid devices to and fro at right angles to the path of movement of saidstream, and control means for setting said mechanism and devices inoperation when the tobacco in said chamber is decreased below apredetermined quantity.

23. In a cigar machine, the combination with a hopper provided with asubstantially horizontal bottom tobacco supporting surface and adischarge opening adapted to contain a supply of tobacco, of a pluralityof spaced substantially vertical movable members positioned across saidhopper above said surface, means for vibrating said hopper with itsentire supply of tobacco to feed said tobacco against said members, andindependently operated means operative during the vibration of saidhopper for moving said members back and forth above said surface in adirection transversely of the path of movement of said surface toseparate tobacco from the face of the tobacco bearing against saidmembers for delivcry from said hopper.

24. In a tobacco feeding mechanism for a cigar machine, a source ofsupply of tobacco comprising an open hopper constructed and arranged tohold a quantity of tobacco sufiicient to form a large number of cigars,said hopper having side and back Walls and a substantially horizontalreceiving and feeding surface positioned to receive tobacco from saidsource, and feed it to a point of discharge, means for supporting saidhopper for substantially rectilinear feeding movement along saidsurface, a rake bar provided with a plurality of depending fingerslocated above and extending transversely across said hopper surface andtending to confine said quantity of tobacco therein, a vibrating devicearranged to vibrate said hopper and entire supply of tobacco containedtherein, means for setting said device into rapid vibration so thattobacco is fed from said supply against said fingers for movementtherepast along said surface in a stream to said point, means for movingsaid fingers transversely of the path of movement while said hopper isvibrating, and means for stopping the vibration of said hopper andmovement of said fingers when a desired amount of tobacco has been fedfrom said hopper.

25. In a tobacco feeding mechanism for a cigar machine, a hoppercontaining a diminishable bulk supply of tobacco sufficient to form aplurality of cigars, a charge forming mechanism including a reciprocablecompressing member, said hopper having an elongated bottom surface, arake device provided with a plurality of spaced depending fingerslocated above said surface and transversely thereof for separating saidhopper into a first part arranged to hold said entire bulk supply, and asecond part constructed and arranged to feed a stream of tobacco fromsaid supply to a point of discharge, means for supporting said hopperfor feeding movement, a vibrating device connected to said hopper, meansfor moving said rake device transversely of said hopper and.transversely of the direction of movement of tobacco therefrom, meansfor intermittently operating said device to vibrate said hopper and saidentire supply of tobacco contained therein rapidly at such a frequencythat tobacco held back by said rake fingers on said first part of saidsurface moves past said moving rake fingers along said second part ofsaid surface in a stream to said discharge point, and means undercontrol of said compressing member for controlling the vibration of saidhopper and movement of said rake device.

JAMES P. DURNING.

